TH has offered his services to the empire of Japan, where as I hope to display a credible defense. If you have no stomach for tactical omissions, operational fauz pas, or strategic blunders, read no further. SitRep: Dec 6th Pearl Harbor 6:00am beautiful weather lots of tars on shore leave post card perfect picture of battleship row note: TH indicated he was interested in the "simulation" aspect of the game as it relates to historical events. I will not employ any gambits etc. that would in my opinion have been out of the question due to extreme risk, political considerations at the time, or just gamey in general. I will effect changes in strategy I feel were open to possibility at the time. ie. Its doubtful I will defend Malaya along its length to prevent cature of to many airfields etc..

Dec7th TWO ship lost! USS California left Pearl with escorts and flags high. No damage to port facilties and few aircraft lost (yet).however I cant count how many are damaged. waiting for round two.

Pacific: ground units on the mainland attached to Pacific commands ordered to San Diego for embarkation PI: many more damaged planes, will see how successful the evacuation of the merchant marine goes. political muscle used here to transfer flyable Boeings and PBYs to the rear. Malaya: organizing the defense of Malaya. there will be a small rear guard followed by slightly stiffer line further (real far south) south. Gemas or Kluang. Yamashita will not defeat me piecemeal he will have to prepare for casulties. DEI: some digging, supplying, and LBA arrangments. China: appears quiet Burma: lots of recon. I think the emperor may be looking here for real estate. Stategy: I plan to fight in the Solomons. tenders are on the way for search a/c to be based between the Santa Cruz islands and New Caledonia. supplies are headed to Port Moresby. CVTFs to stand off awaiting intell. everything here will based on how good my search/recon becomes with regards to high value assets. In the PI and DEI I just want to bleed the Japanese as much as I can, learning more detail about ground combat as I go. I am going to defend Burma with forces available, so it wont hold long. I plan to be ready in India and are making preparations there. Man my wrist smarts!

Its been a long day. I entered 90% of the allied turn on an itty bitty screen. (I will now read the read me files.)

Supreme Allied Head Quarters December 8th 1941 In a small pub in Georgetown, three men sit huddled in a booth. George Marshall swallows hard, looks up at the oddest man he had ever seen, and extends his hand. "how do you wish to be addressed?" "Zulu..capital Z." "and your oranazation, Theatre Wide Intelligence Troop, is that right?" The two shake hands the way one would expect two strangers on the first tee of a public golf course on a two dollar nassau. "It is. The organazation wil pass all orders to Theater commanders via thier XOs through my agents." The odd man follows, gauging the Generals face, "Say it George." "May I call you George?" General George C Marshall, leans back in the booth. Its very smokey in this bar, like sitting through a strategy session with Winnie he reflects. "TWIT,......We are to be advised by TWITs" "Yes sir." "George?" "Zulu" "There is no button with your name on it." Zulu smiles for the first time at the Chief of Staff, elbow extended in invitation to his female companion, and rises signaling the end of the meeting. "Agents are all ready in the field, by the way you have a new Far East Air commander, I suggest you cable him congradulations on his appointment."

December 9th 1941 Game notes: My opponent wishes a historical type game and I will try to oblige him. My goals are to: enjoy the game, learn the mechanics, look for S&T for future use. Because I expect some embarrassing moments I have decided to set up a scape goat ahead of time. AFBs take note I have no intension of being the first? to blow it as the Allies.

HQ:ZULU The Japanese KB was spotted in the evening retiring to the west. The losses at PH were very favorable IMHO to us. Two CLs went down to torpedos leaving Pearl late on the eighth. They had operational points in the eighties and I ignored it. Lesson learned. Total ship losses so far, seven. The two CLs a DD and sub in Manila. In the air the zeros have ruled completely. Five P40 pilots have one kill.

Pacific: Turning some ships back to Pearl from the evacuation yesterday, while prepping marine units for duty in New Caledonia. Looking at assets for Operation Fish Hook, the occupation and expansion of forward bases for support in the Solomon Islands. I think its historical and I want to get a head start.

PI: Zero sweeps over Clark and Manila were successful. I do not believe we got one Zero. The 11th and 5th Bomber groups along with some PBYs were evacuated to Australia. Not sure on the historical accuracy here, I know Mac made his way out on some, but I never cared for him anyway so maybe its my way of not having to deal with him for long. Bataan has requested supplies and is stockpiling, I hope.

DEI: quiet except for my filling the shipping lanes with small cargo TFs for the outposts. force Z retires to Ceylon. I will not repeat that move. Perhaps Zulu is out to tweak history a bit.

China: Im trying to get a handle here. I have ordered some units to “flee” to the main lines, changed a couple of commanders, mostly north of Hong Kong. Over the weekend I hope to get things organized. I do not want waste the supply digging everywhere.

good on ya for going w/ the beta for your CG. coupla' things: - it's not necessary to evac ol' Dugout, if he gets iced in the PI, he'll re-spawn in Oz. - while contemplating your fish hook, don't neglect to set up your global supply convoy network to India & Oz. - pilot training! (repeat) pilot training! (repeat) - set yourself a schedule (don't rest on the 7th day, review sqns instead) where you'll check each sqn every 28 days. of course your PPs are precious, but a decent leader for 'training' sqns is a good investment. there's a page here http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2350193 that you'll want to bookmark.

I need all the help I can get, I will appreciate any comments. Do you mean I can't get rid of Mac without hobnobbing in DC? Paying out of pocket? Im going to check the bank and see what hes worth. All convoys are manual as yet. I have supply going to everything not in CenPac. In about five days I should have shipping where I need it. Do you suggest/use auto or CS style for OZ and beyond in PBEM? Thanks for the link, because I'm green, I have only played the AI, never opened the Beta till now, and Geeez THIS GAME IS HUGE! ps. my manual is now a loose leaf. pss Im having alot fun with this.

re MacArthur, i think you can keep him in place to shore up the PI defense w/ his leader values, when his unit is destroyed, he'll re-appear in Oz at no PP cost.

wrt supply/reinf convoys, CS is best for 'secure' sea-lanes, never use it in contested areas. take note of convoy 'refuel' settings, esp. in early-war. you don't want to suck fuel from a forward base into a TF that has adequate fuel to return to a WestCoast base.

wrt LCUs, sure you need to move combat units forward - but you've also got to concentrate on sending Engrs/NavSupp units to build up defensible rear-area bases. Engrs to build up a base, Defense BTNs to defend it, USN BFs to use it better.

remember you're v. much earlywar, while you're lucky to have gotten off w/ light USN losses at PH, you're still extremely vulnerable, your oppo is going to come at you w/ everything he's got. IJ will have an 'amphibious advantage' for the 1st four months, & will send his KB deathstar against you! at this stage, your limited air assets are v. important for Search & CAP. watch their morale, when it's less than 85, it takes longer for them to Train back up. move your sqns to another base when they get beat up, don't keep them active 'til they're useless.

Dec 10th 1941 Zulu HQ "Zulu?" "yes number two." "the color maps are ready for distribution to Kimmell, Marshall, and Nimitz." "send them, I'm busy with the new supply team." "theres a problem.....they wont load into the TWIT network from paint." Zulu looks up slowly with the grin of a twelve year old who just noticed the dental assistant is'nt wearing a bra. "The priority island material procurement Co will handle all supply to on map locations in sea lanes deemed safe from raiders." "We will have more time to plot against the diminutive, near sighted, yellow leader." Zulu leaned back, the night has been long, so many facets, so many... "Call Chester and arrange a meeting."

PH: The California returns to pier side and reports suggest she'll be 100% in under a week. The air groups are decimated here and I just noticed their moral is'nt so hot either. PI: Japs land in force today. North, South, and west of Manila. P40s suffer one to three at best in A2A. Only 2 pea shooters are actually airborn for the three sweeps. They are all Zeros. The P40s have to be airborn at altitude to have a chance when the strikes come in. This is the first time (with Beta) Im seeing reports of substanial Jap casulties at unopposed landings. Something like 50 of the little guys fell over board in one report. Malaya: Zero sweeps decimate the CAP. I left Georgias AF down, and still lost/damaged 25% of them.

ps: any help on uploading graphics would be helpful, link etc. I like doing them in "paint". Simple, easy. I would like to share them.

December 12th 1941 OP plan Fish Hook Zulu HQ The first TF associated with Fish Hook leaves San Diego. Four xAKL, loaded with supply head out for the staging area. The lead ship is sunk 80nm WSW of the Channel Islands. First SNAFU in task force allocation by TWIT. I will delay departure of the main body 48hrs to allow for extra shipping to reach San Diego to enhance safety factor on the transports. Pear Harbor is crawling with subs forcing me to find a more suitable assembly area for the lead elements to reload in combat mode on the initial lift into the port. Saratoga and escorts are returning to San Diego from their shake down cruise for the primary escort. Four DDs will lead in ASW mode. Saratoga will be vulnerable as she will assume an air transport role.

The ash tray overflows onto the desk leaving a trail of soot from its normal position in a far corner. The coffee rings look like failed search patterns on the nautical charts. "zulu?" number two asks. "yes." "You forgot Chang and Mao...." click...the light fails...SNAFU 2

December 14th 1941 Game: still working to get the situation under some level of control. The shipping lanes are clearing as the PI and 75% of the DEI merchantmen are exiting the theater. 36,120 pts of fuel are on the way to Perth on tankers from the PI and DEI evacuated TFs. Roughly 30,000 supply pts from Brittish sources are not far behind. I hope this holds me till the loose shipping returns to Columbo and the East Coast and I can establish a propper pipeline. "Thinz" is proving to be a great choice for my first PBM as he is very regular (with the turns, dont go there.) and with the simulation type of game allows me to learn/read/learn/read at a nice pace.

Zulu HQ: "Number two!" Zulu looks like a man burning a candle at both ends. "Hei" "Not funny number two, have you seen the air reports from the PI?!" "Hei!" "They reflect a certain inadquecy on the part of the Army Air Corp. yes." number two is quick on his feet. "Wheres my appoinment with Chester?" Zulu can change a subject faster than a game show host, thanks to twenty plus years of marriage. "Hes not in charge yet. How about King?" number two is swift for a TWIT. "No not....not yet."

San Diego: TF90-DD/ASW TF101(transport) TF107(transport) CVTF(Saratoga) depart for Hawaii with elements of Fish Hook. TF117(transport)with escorts should depart in 48hrs. Pearl Harbor: Crawling with I-boats (9 sighted yesterday) ASW TFs are locating them but cant land a barrel on'em. Aus:Beefing up supply and relocating BFs on the North East Coast. note: Zulu HQ has established a link for operational help. I will give credit where credit is due in time. First I have to digest. PI: I think I've made Luzon a Zero ace factory. DEI: abandoning the Georgetown line. I am not cut off so things look as good as they can here I think. Sumatra: I have ordered forces meant for Singapore to unload at Oosthaven (geez wheres the spell check) I have no intention of mounting a fortress Palenbang (spell). I will defend India instead. I do think it deserves more attention than I am giving it, but I have decided against it for this game.

Operation Fish Hook: Forward Staging Area SoPac OpPlan-revised-(CREDIT DUE: JMALTER thank you)OOB Phase I - Luganville (all planning) USN BF x2 USA BF x2 Marine Defense Bn x2 (1 was reassigned) 198th FA 161st Inf Reg 8th Marine Reg 206 coastal AA (this may have been the unit which evolved into 2/59ADA, my unit in 1stAD Im checking) 808 Engineering Aviation Bn USN Port Serv x2 31st PG and 19th BG are being considered for the initial air complement. However the P39s are making me real nervous after the P40 reports from the PI. note: B17s from the PI are at Cairns close to full strength as well as a large group of Cats from the PI also. The Cats are on Horn.

LCU pre-planning is important for combat ops, esp. so for an opposed amph assault, where 100% prep is a must. Even an amph landing on an undefended dot-base will incur some casualties in poorly-prepped units. But once your flag is on the base, amph load/unload will occur w/o probs, and a BF or Engr will perform equally well regardless of what base it's prepped for.

ASW must be a combined effort, where combined air & nav assets can increase detection levels on enemy subs to each other's benefit. Also i like your arrangement where ASW TF90 is the lead TF in your FH convoy, though you best have ASW escorts in each of the following TFs.

amongst all the myriad cleck-fisting you must do (have i mentioned pilot training), is turn off all air / land replacements except for units you decide on / choose manually. you don't want your airframe/device production to be suctioned off to rear-area units.

lastly, examine your entire fleet & start to get a handle on when / where to convert/upgrade. getting the latest radar/AA for combat vessels is important, also some few AP/AK types can change to APA/AKA, DDs to APDs or AVDs, etc. Upgradeable ships are potentially more valuable - so even if you don't start an upgrade/conversion right away, you can assign them to the less-risky tasks.

Points well taken "j". I now have a "j"file (printed and everything,lol) As a check list and research center as you will. I just reviewed the ground commanders, and thought I had the air replacements off, but did discover a "leak" in P40 frames. The prep is a longer process than I anticipated; I hope since Im forced to stop and reload the amphibs in combat mode they will get their Op training up in time. I hope I was right in assuming the long voyage from the West Coast would disrupt them to much. Its Friday, so I hope to get a chance to really examine the pilot and pool stuff from 1106i through the Beta. Thanks for the support.

Other than this date in history Thailand defects to the Axis nothing much to report.

December 16th 1941 Game: Not losing P40s at 1:5 today. I still have not seen a Nate or Oscar, all Zeros all seem to have high skills. I have organised ASW better I think although I forgot to check optimum Alt for the Cats (switched from naval search) at PH. The KB raided Wake with over 150 AC. Terry is very methodical so far. days of sweeps, night raids by 2Es followed by SCTF bombardment where he can.

West Coast: 2nd element of Fish Hook leaves in the morning to arrive PH Christmas eve pm. The first element expected evening of the 23rd. Ill check Op planning levels on them there. More shipping arriving tomorrow for the final lift. PH: Again eleven subs sighted. I have increased ASW by surf ships and added Cats at range 5 vectored on the largest concentration. Six are within 160nm. CVTFs: Lexington and Enterprise have left the Phoenix Isles for positions SSE and due east of Christmas Island. AUS: two surface TFs evacuated from PI and DEI are sailing today from Townsville to PH where I will press them in to escort duty with arriving DDs from the East Coast. DEI: state of chaos. reorganizing ABs. mining and getting all the oil I can south to Perth. I need to get a better handle here against an aggressive adversary. I have diverted the Indian reinforcements to Oosthaven (sp) they should arrive in four days. China: I am preparing a small counter offensive near Sinyang(sp) before massing behind the river.

reality check: While waiting for turn number 12. This is my first PBEM. My first PBM was in 1975. I was 15. I played FTF ASL (card board, they were called counters then.) until the passing of a great friend in 1999 from cancer, he played till the last month of his life. We met in the barracks, B Btry 2nd Bn 59th Air Defense Arty. I was lighting a butt and was offered a match. They were wooden matches which I thought looked hip. I motioned him to hand em over for a look see and kinda went white. It was a small black box with a fish skeleton, below it read "Decade of Decadence" No Fish Today. I mentioned we had a similar establishment back home at Fells Point in Baltimore and I never would have guessed it was a franchise. Of course it was not, his sister, Linda, owned it. We became close buddies till we ETS d out. We started Squad Leader in my apartment in Nurnberg in 1979 together, when we were not with our shotzies (spell?), FTXs, or the motor pool. Any way, long and short of it, While shopping for a Talonsoft game very similar to ASL I had lost during a move I found the Matrix site. I dwelled on a number of titles before settling on AE. My father fought in the PTO as will become apparent in the AAR at the proper time, and I pretty much played out the ETO. I actually pushed counters in WITE (SPI I believe) and John died before we ever played the Code of Bushido (spell) expansion to ASL. Why share this? I want to say I have not felt such a community band in wargaming since an Origins at JHU in 70s or the small time I got to work with Mac, Wetzleburger, and others on ASL at the little shack Avalon Hill had close to the Hornet Engine plant, Gruman I think out in old Glen Arm Md. By the way, if you ever played ASL, Wetzleburger was the 9-2 leader in the German mix. I found out why first hand. So with all that in mind, I hope I can learn this puppy (AE) before: A.) they come out with AE2 B.) I succumb to liver disease or C.) All the fine people here experience a second youth and split for beer and girls again. It s nice to be here. Amen

Wow, thanks for sharing. Hard to lose old friends, particularly old friends developed with the double cameraderie of military service buddy AND gaming buddy. I agree that this is a great community, especially given the anarchist cesspools that count as online "communities" for other games.

I was probably much younger than you in the 70s but started pushing counters around at an early age. ASL, Third Reich, various Napoleonic and Civil War games, War in the Pacific by SPI (could never find the damn Yamato counter in the box!), etc. Then on to Napoleonic and WWII miniatures. Good times, but how we lived without computers to do the math I'll never know.

December 17th Zulu HQ: Under radio silence: scuttlebut- Nimitz in for a suprise from Washington and Zulu West Coast: No sub interference. third convoy for Fish Hook leaves Tomorrow. In another SNAFU (I was going to keep count, but that would be ridiculous.) The Amphib HQ is a week behind forces schedule for the intitial lift into Luganville. Warspite and Colorodo are two weeks to completion also. PH: The California and Oaklahoma will be out of dry dock just after new years along with Honolulu. Wake Island: Wild Cats sqdrn withdrawn. PI: The perimeter is shrinking fast. Terry has waged an excellent air campaign. P40 strength is maybe a dozen. Some groups withdrawn. Two landings south of Manila and I let him get ashore 40mi from Clark trapping over a division north. There is a pure Phipino counter attack south of Manila which should take place on the 20th. Bataan has the lions share of the supplies now. I have heard fellow gamers talk about making the last stand at Clark because of the terrain benefit,... next time. FUBAR. Malaya: Thank someone the roads suck! He has not tried to outflank here so I think I have time to organize better on Sumatra and Java. Burma: quiet except for recon. Trying to set a CAP trap south of Rangoon with elements of the AVG. China: Orders given: counter attack 40mi south of Changsha. Two corps with better leadership, more coming from the east. Still holding Hong Kong but it is being methodically reduced by air and bombardment. The first deliberate attempt to take it on the 17th cost the Japs so I hope it can hold another few days.

December 25th 1941 Game: Opponent: Terry has displayed a calculating and deliberate style in his representation of the IJE. Air power usage has been massed and well-coordinated. Sweeps by front line A/C by crack pilots followed by night raids have enabled him to gain air superiority where ever needed. After he has gained the upper hand in any one area the second line LBA moves in against minimal opposition from Allied AFs. The multiple and well-timed landings in the PI were well planned flanking maneuvers unhinging the forces there in short order. His apparent grasp of the game mechanics as applied to strategy and tactics will make 1942 very tense. Hawaii: Christmas Eve at Pearl shows how much I have to learn. In an attempt to launch an advance labor party to Loganville, I ended up with a bunch of transports with over 200 op points, no load, and unit fragments on the piers. I will be publishing my newb guide to logistics in September, Zulu time. Australia: Port Moresby, Carnes, Townsville, and Horn Island are reinforced and are receiving air components. Perth has received large supply convoys and almost 100,000 pts of fuel from Sumatra and Java. PI: All forces in Luzon are within 40mi of Bataan except one disrupted badly mauled INF Div. 80mi north of Clark. Very limited air left on Bataan. Trying to rest everything on Bataan I can, to conserve supply? DEI: Here I am delaying well and beginning to hit the IJA with LBA. I diverted the Indian division to Palembang; it will be finished offloading at Oosthaven on the 26th. Mini KB is in the Celebes Sea. The entrance to the Makassar straights is well mined with Dutch subs lurking nearby. Likewise the northern approaches through Flores Sea are mined with Dutch sub support. Should a TRTF leak through several allied surface groups are within 48hrs to intercept. I am close to flying the Far East Command HQ to Palembang to take command of Sumatra. I hope I can airlift it, I can’t sea lift it. Thoughts?

India: Imphal now has engineers and some artillery. A British Brigade is en route.

as best i can tell, LCU rest/training mode does not reduce supply consumption compared to combat mode, & is dangerous in a hex where combat is expected.

its good to use in rear areas (when adequate support is available) to rebuild damaged components faster or grab a TO&E upgrade, and to increase LCU exp gain (but only when the LCU is 100% trained for the base it currently occupies).

the info above is based on gleaning from these threads. glad to hear that ZHQ ain't sweating (yet).

have you made plans for a Palembang Redoubt? my take is, it'll need a full commitment of available PP & units from India, Oz & NZ, while not neglecting Singers as a breakwater.

re airlift, AFAIK Restricted LCUs can be air-transported anywhere, but 'heavy' components like guns or mobile support or radar aren't air-transportable. Also that you won't want to be flying transports anywhere near to enemy fighters!

Zulu HQs Irene left HQ without power for 92hrs. The actual damage was small, but clean up continues. The game has progressed to 2nd week in January after a flurry of turns following restoration of power. It will not be for another week RL I will have time to update. Peace and prayers to the Cribtop clan.